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Thoughts on the Myers-Briggs test

So I was reading a blog that talked about the Myers-Brigg’s test. You know, the personality exam that results in you being assigned one of two letters, in four different categories.

Ultimately, you end up with a 4-letter code that tells you who your friends are supposed to be, how you react to stimuli, your zodiac sign, what other – more successful/famous- people are like you, etc.

The blogger mentioned she her code and commented that it was a rare subtype – only 4% of the population. And I thought “Wait, wasn’t my code rare?” and then I thought “Is 4% even rare? How many types are there?”

“Other people in your type” …Should I be concerned about this?

2 possibilities in separate 4 categories. I did the math.

Then a friend did the math correctly, and if each category has an equal chance of being picked, you’re part of a group that composes 6.25% of the population.

So…. you can kind of say ANY group is “rare”. I mean, it’s less than 7% of the population!

Makes you feel good, being a special little flower.

Caution: Wanting to feel special is how we get Mary Sues

Further research (clicking the top link of a google search) revealed that it’s not equal distributions. The most common is ISFJ (13.8%), also known as the “conformist losers”, and the least common is INFJ (1.5%), also known as “cliquish snobs.”

On a side note, I don’t know if I’ve ever met someone who said they’re “extroverted”. Maybe it’s just the people I know. Each hiding in their cave.